Green said: ‘The simplicity of the BARNHAUS, and the fact that it’s really, really buildable for a very modest budget are what make it special.

‘The result is a much larger home than normal and a very spatially rich internal volume. I think the design proves that everyone can have a home that they really love for just £41,000. And if this design could be replicated and made available widely I think there are tens of thousands of families in the UK who would want to build one.’

The ideas competition which called for designs for a self-build home to house a family of four for £50,000, was judged by Grand Designs’ Kevin McCloud, the Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson, self-builder Geoff Stow, architectural designer Charlie Luxton and chair of the National Self-Build Association Ted Stevens.

Stevens said: ‘We’ve been overwhelmed by the calibre of ideas and innovations suggested by entrants. All of the submissions were accompanied by a detailed cost report, so it proves that it really is possible to get a great looking family house built for under £50,000 – if you are prepared to be innovative and do some of the construction work yourself.’

Finalist Thread Architects’ designs for the self-build on a shoestring competition

Previous story (AJ 12.08.13)

Can you design a £50,000 self-build home?

A high profile competition is calling for designs for a self-build home that can house a family of four for £50,000

The ‘self-build on a shoestring’ competition has been launched by the National Self Build Association (NASBA).

McCloud said: ‘Self-build doesn’t just happen on television. Every year about ten thousand of us commission a new home for ourselves or even build it with our bare hands.

‘We’re looking for designs for simple-to-build kit homes that can be adapted to suit any need and reconfigured and skinned to fit anywhere.’

NASBA chair Ted Stevens added: ‘The potential market for the winning design could be enormous. A recent Ipsos MORI poll suggested there were 6 million people currently investigating the feasibility of undertaking a self-build project, and 1m of these are already searching for or trying to acquire a plot of land.

‘In the 1970s and 1980s, the UK devised some extremely innovative, low-cost self build homes, and hundreds of very affordable, simple-to-build homes were constructed. More recently there has been huge media interest in a very simple low-cost two/three bedroom house constructed in Ireland for just £20,000.

‘We believe there is a huge appetite in Britain, especially from young families on modest incomes, to build a truly affordable home for themselves. And we are confident we will get some wonderfully innovative designs - from both amateurs and professionals alike.’

Alongside an A2 board showing their designs, entrants are required to submit a cost report.

The winning designs will receive a share of the £5,000 prize fund.

The completion deadline is Friday 20 September. The winning entries will be announced at Grand Designs Live on 5 October 2013.

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